Gilera Motorcycle History

The history of the Gilera company began in the early 1900s with the launch of the VT 317, the first motorbike designed by Giuseppe Gilera, in 1909. After the first World War, Gilera’s 500cc flathead motorbikes won the top international races. The mid-1930s saw the arrival of overhead models like the Quattro Bulloni 500 and the Otto Bulloni. 1936 marked the launch of the Rondine, a futuristic racing bike with compressor and 500cc straight-four engine. The Rondine set a host of world records (274.181 km/h on a flying kilometre in 1937: a feat that remained unbeaten for nearly twenty years) and took Dorino Serafini to the 1939 European Championship title.

After the war, Gilera returned with the new Saturno 500 and a range of medium-small engines. On the race track, the new four-cylinder 500cc models dominated the Moto GP World Championship, the stars of epic duels with Norton, Moto Guzzi and MV Agusta, and won six rider titles between 1950 and 1957. Umberto Masetti was world champion in 1950 and 1952, followed by Geoff Duke (three world titles) and Libero Liberati (one title). Gilera also clocked up six constructors world titles, three Tourist Trophy victories, seven Italian titles and a spectacular record-breaking victory by Bruno Francisci in the Milan-Taranto. Overall, by the time of its withdrawal from racing in 1957, Gilera had won 40 world Grand Prix. It was a redoubtable competitor in offroad races too, dominating the International Six Days events. On the market, Gilera made its reputation with its medium-cylinder touring bikes – Giubileo, Rossa, Turismo, Sport – turning out impressive production figures; its top-of-the-range models, in addition to the Saturno (the choice of Italy’s armed forces) included the 300 Bicilindrica.

In 1969 Gilera joined the Piaggio Group, which re-launched the historic two-ring brand by focusing on production of medium and medium-small models and a range of road and offroad bikes. Gilera’s performance in Cross and Regularity races revived the traditional splendour of its name, with the support of leading-edge innovations such as the futuristic 125 Bicilindrica Cross. With the 1980s came a new four-stroke dual-shaft single-cylinder engine—initially 350 and 500cc, later in a 600cc model—which reached its peak on the RC enduro series (600 and 750), with two class victories in the Paris-Dakar and an “outright” in the Pharaoh Rally. In the 125 class, Gilera led the field with the all-powerful SPO2 and the futuristic CX125.

Gilera returned to the 250 cc Moto GP World Championship in 1992 and 1993. Production was transferred to Pontedera in 1993, where the brand focused on development of sport scooters like the Runner, an innovative road scooter-bike, now available in four-stroke four-value 125 and 200cc versions. In 2000, Gilera expanded its range with the revolutionary DNA, a “stripped down” automatic that took the scooter-bike concept into a new dimension. The end of 2003 saw the debut of the Nexus maxiscooter, marking Gilera’s return to the 500cc class. More than 40 hp, sophisticated design solutions and easy driving made the Nexus the sportiest scooter on the market.
In 2007 the Gilera GP 800 is the fastest and most powerful scooter seen to date: dual-cylinder, 8 valves, 839cc, electronic injection, liquid cooled, 75 hp. The Gilera GP 800 is the link between the performance and pleasure of a mid-range model and the practical features of a scooter with loading capacity, aerodynamic protection and driving comfort. The other outstanding new entry, in 2007, is the Gilera Fuoco: with its striking design and dual-ignition, electronic injection 500cc engine, the Fuoco is the standard-bearer for the Piaggio Group’s exclusive “three-wheel” technology: a fundamental development in safety and riding pleasure.

In 2001 the two-ring brand made an unexpected move when it entered the 125 class World Championship, a return to racing made possible by the Piaggio Group’s acquisition of Spain’s Derbi. With young driver Manuel Poggiali (Republic of San Marino), Gilera was one of the leaders in the 125 category. On 20 May, at Le Mans, Manuel engineered a spectacular race to finish first in the French Grand Prix and put Gilera back on top of the podium. By the end of the season, Poggiali had scored two more victories (the Portuguese GP in Estoril and the Comunitat Valenciana GP) and crowned an extraordinarily consistent performance to become 125 World Champion, adding another title to the Gilera hall of fame, 44 years after the last world title won by Libero Liberati.

In 2002 it returned to defend its title. Once again Poggiali set the pace, with races, like the win at Mugello, that have gone down in motorcycling history. With four victories Poggiali fought to the very last GP but closed in the runner-up position.
2003 was a season of transition. After two successful years, the team began a difficult process of reconstruction to equip itself for a revival, a painstaking task away from the spotlight of the podium, but one that reaped its rewards in the 2004 championship. For the first time since its return to racing, Gilera opened the season with two riders: Stefano Perugini and Fabrizio Lai.

Following the integration of Aprilia into the Piaggio Group, Gilera returned to MotoGP in 2006, with Marco Simoncelli, a young rider from the Romagna region of Italy racing in the 250 class. 2007 saw efforts being doubled with Roberto Locatelli, a veteran of MotoGP riding alongside Simoncelli. Gilera’s first ever 250 class win came in the 2008 season when Marco Simoncelli rode to victory in the Italian GP at Mugello. He repeated the feat in the very next GP in Barcelona. Simoncelli went on to win the German, Japanese, and Australian GPs as well and in the Malaysian GP took the 2008 MotoGP World Championship title in the 250 class.

Once again an Italian riding a Gilera was the World Champion, 51 years after Libero Liberati. Completing a season of triumphs, Marco also won the last race, in Valencia, on his Gilera 58, sporting a special livery to mark the brand’s one hundredth anniversary.

In 2009 Simoncelli’s defence of the title got off to a difficult start, after an accident during training forced him to miss the first race in Qatar and slowed his performance during the early races. Even so, he scored six wins and competed for the title right up to the last GP. But a slip during the Valencia race put paid to his dream of a repeat world title. 2009 was the last MotoGP season for the 250 class. Gilera left the World Championship after providing the last Italian world title holder in the 250.